Expression-controlling device for mechanically and manually operated player-pianos.



O. JOHNSON.

EXPRESSION CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR MEGHANIGALLY AND MANUALLY OPERATED PLAYER PIANOS.

API'LIOATION FILED OUT. 11 1911. 1,107,797. Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO LITHO. WASHINGTUN; D. c.

O. JOHNSON.

EXPRESSION CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR MEGHANIGALLY AND MANUALLY DPEBATED.

PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLIOATION FILED 001. 11, 1911.

1,107,797 Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

657866665: Okra/175517001:

THE NORRIS PETERS C(7., PHOTO-LITH7., WASHINGTON, D. C,

0. JOHNSON. EXPRESSION CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR MEGHANIOALLY AND KANUALLY OPERATED PLAYER PIANOS. APPLICATION IILED'OOT. 11, 1911- 1,107,797, v Patented Aug.18, 1914.

3 BHEETSSHEET 3.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHO., WAsHlNGmN. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR JOHNSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AUTO PNEUMATIC ACTIO COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

EXPRESSION-CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR MECHANICALLY AND MANUALLY OPERATED PLA.YEB-PIANOS.

Specification 01' Letters Patent.

Application filed October 11, 1911.

Serial No. 654,148.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ()scan JoHNsoN, a subject of the King of vSweden, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of .New York, have invented a new and useful ExpressioirControlling Device for Mechanically and Manually Operated Player-Pianos, of which the following is a spta-iiieation.

The object of this invention is to provide a new and in'iproved expression controlling device for mechanically and manually operated pianos.

To this end the invention consists in providing a movable hammer rail, means for normally holding the hammer rail in a forward position, and means for manually and adj ustablv retracting the hammer rail from its normal forward position. The hammer rail is made in sections, preferably three sections, and an independent retracting means is provided for each section. This retracting meansin its preferred form consists in a push button arranged in the key bed and the three push buttons are preferably arranged in convenient position. Means is also provided for locking the sections of the hammer rail in their retracted position. Thus by manipulating the buttons, the hammers controlled by each section of the hammer rail can be adjustably retracted whereby the hammers of said section will have a longer movement and thus strike a heavier blow, as compared with the operation when in normal position. By this means it is pos sible to control the expression and accent in playing mechanically. In the preferred operation, the sectional hammer rails are locked in their retracted position when playing manually so as to obtain the full effect of the key actions.

Referring to the accompanying three sheets of drawings forming part of this application for patent, Figure 1 is a side sectionalv elevation of a. pneumatically operated player piano, which also can be played man uall v through the keys, with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side sectional elevation through the key bed illustrating the operating shaft extending from one push button. Fig. I) is a plan of the key bed illustrating the arrangement of the three push buttons. Fig. 4 a front sectional elevation illustrating the construction of the three push buttons and of the locking lever. Fig. 5 is a side sectional elevation illustrating the details of the locking shaft. Fig. (i is a sectional elevation taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a front elevation illustrating the operating connections extending to the hammer rail. Fig. 8 is a face view or rear elevation of the hammer rail, and Fig. 9 is a detail end section of the hammer rail.

Referring to the drawings and in detail, A designates the piano case, B the strings, U the key bed, I) the keys, E the actions and F the hammers of the piano. These parts are arranged in the ordinary way and re quire no detailed description.

(lr represents a series of neumatics, a pneumatic being provided for. each action and having connections to engage and operate the wippen thereof. The instrument also provided with a tracker H, the usual wind-inducing devices, valve mechanisms, and music sheet manipulating mechanisms so that the piano can be played mechanically as well as manually.

I designates the hammer rail support. The hammer rail itself is made in three sections, 10, 11 and 12, each section having depending arms 13 which are pivoted to supports 14 projecting from the bottom of the hammer rail support I. The face of each section of the hammer rail is covered with felt 15 to engage with the rods or shafts of the hamn'iers. By this arrangement the position of the hammers relatively to the strings can be coi'itrolled and the control is a three-section control. The normal posi tion of the hammer rail sections is in innermost position, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to hold the hammers normally closest to the strings. By swinging a section of the hammer rail backward, the section of the hammers controlled thereby will move backwardly. By this arrangement when any hammer in said section is operated either mechanically or manually, a harder blow or stroke will be given to said hammer than when the section of the hammer rail was in its normal or innermost position. ()loviously, by moving the section of the hammer rail backward a. greater or less distance. the:

amount of extra power and movement which will be imparted to the hammer will be varied in proportion to the backward move- Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

ment of the section of the hammer rail. Therefore, by providing suitable operating means for the sections of the hammer rail, the operation of one section of the hannners can be adjusted relatively to the other sec-- tions and this adjustment can be varied as desired. By properly proportioning "the sections of hammer rail it is thus possible to accent either the bass, intermediate, or treble section. of the actions. In this way very artistic shading and expression can be given.

T he operating connections for the tions of the hammer rails are arranged as follows :-Three operating instrumentalities, preferably buttons 16, 17 and 18, are fitted in holes in the key bed. button 16 is arranged to control the treble section of the hammer rail. by the following connections. The button 16 engages a lever 19 secured on a shaft 20 journaled in suitable brackets secured to the key bed. The end of this shaft is bent upwardly to form a crank 21 which connects by a link or wire 22 with a bell crank 23 secured on a. block at the right hand side of the piano casing, which bell crank connects by a link or wire 24: to an arm 25 rigidly secured to and projecting out from the treble section 10 of the hammer rail. A spring 26 is arranged between a lever 190 secured on the shaft and a screw in the under side of the key board so as normally to pull the lower end of the lever 190 to the left, thus to raise the button 16 and to pull the hammer rail normally forward to the position shown in Fig. 1. depressing the button 16 through the connections described, the hammer rail section 10 will be swung backwardly or retracted toward the hammer rail support I, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 9, the extreme of this move ment being when the top of the hammer rail section engages with the hammer rail. support. Pieces of felt are preferably arranged on the l'lflll'llh-Ql' rail support to cushion the extreme backward movements of the hammer rail. sections. The button 16 is made of a length so as to project quite a distance above the key bed C. It is obvious that the degree of backward movement of the hammer rail section up to its extreme backward throw is determined by the distance the button 1G is depressed and therefore that the hammer rail section 10 can be adjusted to any position between that shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 9. By this arrangement, the amount of extra throw given to the hammers controlled by the hammer rail section 10 can be varied within said limits, de-

pending upon the distance the button 16 is depressed. The button 17 conue by a lever 27', shaft 28, crank 2), link or wire 3(), bell crank 31'pivoted at the left of the piano case, link or wire 32 to a crank 33, formed on the end of a shaft 34 journaled in suitable bear- The right hand l ings or blocks secured to the lower side of the hannner rail support, the end of said shaft being upwardly bent and forming a crank 35 which engages the rear of the intermediate hammer rail section 11. A spring 36 is arranged between a lever 270 secured on the shaft 528 and a screw so as norn'ially to keep the button 17 in its elevated position and the intermediate hammer rail section 11 in its forward position. connected by a lever 37, shaft 38, crank 35), link or wire 10, bell crank 4.11 and link or wire 42 to an arm at?) projecting from the hammer rail section 12 in a manner similar to the arm 25 projecting from the hammer rail section 10, a lever 370 and spring 371 being arranged normally to pull the lower end of the lever 370 to the left.

The arrangements described in connection with the buttons 17 and 18 provide for the retraction of the intermediate and bass sections of the hammer rail to any degree within their range of movement.

By arranging the three buttons as shown they can be conveniently manipulated by the first, second and third fingers of the left hand of the operator.

it is sometimes desired to set the hammer rails so that the hammers n'l. be held in their retracted positions. This sometimes is done when playing mechai'iically as loudly as possible, but more particularly when the piano is to be played manually, because by holding the hannners in their retracted positions, the full effects can be obtained from the keys. To lock the hammer rails in their retracted position the following connections are provided: Connected to the levers 190, 270 and 370 are three slotted links -l-lll; 4-41- which fit on a crank arm formed on the end of a shaft 46 journaled in. bearings se'ured to the bottom of the key bed. The links are separated by pieces of felt and kept in position on said crank arm by collars et7--:t7, as shown in Fig. 145 is also provided with an intermediate crank arm or off-set portion 18 engaging which is a leaf spring -19 secured to the bottom of the key bed. A lever 50 is secured to the end of the shaft 4-6 and projects up through a slot cut in the key bed. Normally the lever is left in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. In this position of the parts the slotted links simply slide back and forth on the crank arm to as the buttons 16, 17 and 18 are manipulated. When it desired to lock the sections of the hammer rail in their retracted position, the lever 50 is swung to the left, as shown in Fig. This causes the crank arm 15 to engage the links 1-1 and depress the buttons 16, 1'7 and 18 and pull the sections of the hannner rail back to their retracted positions, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9. 31s the lever 50 is swung to the left, the off-set portion 18 of the shaft The button 18 is The said shaft will pass over its center relatively to the leaf spring 49 and hence the lever 50 will be locked in its left hand nosition and the sections of the hammer rail will be locked in retracted position. \Vhen it is desired to unlock the hammer rail sections from their retracted positions, the lever 50 is simply moved to the right and allowed to stay in the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 4. Thus by the arrangements described, a variable accent can be given to any one or more of the sections of the notes controlled by each section of the hammer rail, or this accenting mechanism can be rendered inoperat-ive.

The details and arrangements herein shown and described may be greatly varied by a skilled mechanic without departin from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters-Patent is 1. In a piano, a movable hammer rail made in a plurality of sections, means for normally holding the same in forward position, a. plurality of vertically sliding plungers constituting push-buttons arranged adjacently in the key-bed, mechanical connections therefrom to the hammer rail whereby each section can be retracted independently of the other sections by manipulation of the corresponding push-button, and a single means for simultaneously retracting and locking all of said sections and for depressing and looking all of said buttons.

2. In a piano, a movable hammer rail made in a plurality of sections, means for normally holding the same in forward position, a plurality of vertically sliding plungers projecting upwardly through the keybed, a corresponding number of rock shafts each having an arm at one end thereof contactin the ot er end connected to retract one of said rail sections, and a single means to simultaneously turn all of said shafts to retract said sections, and to therefore lock said shafts against reverse movement.

3. In a piano, a movable hammer rail made in sections, means for normally holding the same in forward position, manually operated means for retracting the same, and means for locking the sections in retracted position comprising slotted yokes, a shaft having a crank arm engaging said slotted yokes, and an operating handle on the shaft.

4. In a piano, a movable hammer rail made in sections, means for normally hold- 'ing the same in forward position, manually operated means for retracting the same means for locking the sections inretracted position comprising slotted yokes, a shaft having a crank arm en aging said slotted yokes, an operating han le on the shaft, an offset portion on said shaft, and a leaf spring engaging therewith.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OSCAR JOHNSON. Witnesses WM. J. Bamon, EDGAR STEVENSON.

copies of this patent may he obtained for five cent: each, by awash: the Oommhdoner at In,

Washington, D. 0."

with one of said buttons, a crank at 

